SEC play is underway, and Tennessee basketball’s lineup is unsolved.
But if an 85-71 win over Texas in the conference home opener is anything to gander at, it’s that head coach Rick Barnes is unafraid to make a move on what isn’t working. That prevented top bench guard Ethan Burg from touching the floor on Tuesday.
It also came with limited action from transfer guard Amaree Abram. The two had not been meeting Barnes’ expectations, and some jockeying came with Troy Henderson getting a look.
“Ethan didn’t play tonight — we’ll see if he’s going to fight back, you know?” Barnes said. “Mo (Amaree Abram) didn’t play very much. We felt those guys, we’ve given them a lot of time to do it, and we felt that we had to give Troy a chance.”
Burg has struggled to begin his domestic career. After finding success in a professional league in Israel, Barnes brought Burg aboard to be a top reserve guard. While the minutes allocated showed trust, the production there did not warrant more action.
Against Arkansas, Burg played just five minutes. Committing two fouls and two turnovers in that time, he was met with restriction. Barnes elected against playing the guard, averaging 3.1 points and 1.8 assists with 1.1 turnovers per game in 11.9 minutes a night — and the baseline results showed.
It gave Troy Henderson, who had not earned a minute in Tennessee’s loss to Arkansas, eight minutes on the floor. He may not have provided any statistics, going 0-for-2 with a minus-5 plus/minus, but he did not make any crucial mistakes, either.
“He’s earned it,” Barnes said. “We’re going do it. Now, he took an ill-advised shot. At that point in time, we got a lead. And that’s what I told our guys, I said, ‘You guys do realize we got the lead, we got to get everybody involved, and Troy, you can shoot, but that wasn’t the right time for it.’ He goes in the game and the more he plays too, but he’ll get a chance — he didn’t do anything other than that shot, but we’ll keep playing him because he’ll keep working at it.”
He’s part of a gritty freshman class that Barnes continues to see growth out of. Nate Ament headlined, but the Vols have developed a group of guys that can become seasoned veterans in the depth of the class.
Henderson earned his shot, but Amari Evans has been trending up the last handful of games, too. The Pittsburgh native continued his upward trajectory with a 4-point, 3-rebound, 3-steal, 2-assist and 1-block outing in 23 minutes — stuffing the stat sheet.
It’s a class that also has forward DeWayne Brown II in a starting role for the No. 21 Vols. Brown stepped in when Cade Phillips went down for the season, earning a start in each of the last five games. He put forth a productive 10-point outing against the Longhorns, which is the most since he earned the elevation and the second-most points of his early career.
“Well, we’re happy with them, in terms (of) they come to work,” Barnes said. “… I still think there’ll be games when we’ll play all these guys, and we’ll play them all every night if they prove they can do their job.”
When Henderson checked into the game with 8:17 left in the first half, the Vols were running a three-freshman look with Henderson, Evans and Brown. The grouping made it to the 6:24 mark before Evans headed to the bench, but the moment showed a glimpse of what the future could look like for guys who might not have expected to be in position for meaningful minutes come SEC play.
“It’s definitely been good,” Brown said. “And I mean, we all always hang out together a lot, so it’s kind of cool and fun to all be on the court at the same time. I mean, we all put in hard work to be able to play, and we got to keep doing that so we can keep playing.”
It’s all part of the growth they’ve endured — and why Barnes is able to put trust in them. The reps have not been there quite yet, but as each game passes, the freshman class has shown up the elder veterans, and that’s why they continue to earn the roles they have been given.
“I would say like they’re the most mature freshmen I’ve ever probably played with,” Gillespie said. “Like all of them can really make an impact on the court.”
